The Honorable J. Dennis
Hastert
Speaker of the House
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Mr. Speaker:

As representatives
of the cancer patient, survivor, provider and research communities, the
undersigned organizations are writing to thank you for your commitment
to pass a Patients' Bill of Rights this year. The cancer community has
a well-known interest in the clinical trials provision. As negotiations
continue, we urge your support for a strong provision that includes access
to those trials privately sponsored by the pharmaceutical, biotechnology
and medical device industries.

Privately-funded trials
are among those most sought after by people with cancer because they feature
the exciting new technologies that may offer the most hope of extending
survival or improving quality of life. Their quality cannot be questioned
as they are under review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It is worth noting
that the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has just issued a
proposed National Coverage Decision that extends coverage of clinical
trials under Medicare not only to government-sponsored research but also
to trials by industry that proceed under an investigational exemption
from FDA. This administrative decision was reached after the President
issued an Executive Memorandum instructing that Medicare cover such trials,
both those publicly funded and those funded by the private sector. If
this scope of coverage is available for Medicare beneficiaries, we believe
it unquestionably is appropriate for those enrolled in private health
plans.

If the universe
of privately-sponsored clinical trials is omitted from coverage, the Congress
will have done only half of the job that is needed to address the concerns
of cancer patientsand others with serious or life-threatening diseasesabout access to potentially life-extending clinical trials. As you proceed with
deliberations over the Patients' Bill of Rights, your support for this
critical enhancement will be greatly appreciated.